


An End and a Beginning

by jozevf



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Blood and Injury, F/M, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Sex Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28967586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jozevf/pseuds/jozevf
Summary: Featuring a few characters from a couple of my friends.





	An End and a Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Featuring a few characters from a couple of my friends.

Fashonti woke up in a bed that was not his own, his head pounding. Vague recollections of the night before floated through his mind as he fumbled to put his glasses on. As he sat up and his vision cleared, he looked across the room and saw Minini sitting at her table and drinking some tea. He suddenly recalled the last words he spoke to the half-elezen woman before they both fell asleep: ... _ I am yours. _ From that memory, the rest of the night’s events fell into place in his mind and he blushed.

“Good morning,” Minini said with a kind smile. “I worried you might wake with a worse hangover than I did, so I prepared us some tea.” She took a sip from her tea cup. “It’s fennel tea, so it should help soothe things.”

Carefully rising, Fashonti smiled at her but looked at the nearby clock. He’d overslept. “Ah, I would adore nothing more, I assure you…” He noticed Minini bite her lip, seeming to sense the next words out of his mouth. “...But I’m afraid I must leave. I am due to meet a client in very short order, and I… cannot make him wait.” 

The kindly half-elezen closed her eyes and lowered her head. When she at last looked back at the miqo’te, she did her best to hide the sadness in her face. “I understand. Please take care, and I’ll be here when you get a chance to chat again, okay?”

Pulling his gloves over his scarred hands, he nodded. “Yes, of course. I look forward to our next chat.” As Fashonti put on his hat and opened the door, he stopped and looked back at Minini. They could both sense the three simple words he desperately wanted to say, but they stopped short in his mouth. In the silence, they exchanged warm smiles, and with a great deal of hesitation he finally left.

***

Fashonti stood outside the door of Minini’s apartment, failing to understand what just happened as she stood in the doorway avoiding his gaze. He had stopped by after his final client of the day, bloody bandages around his head. When asked about them, he explained that one of his clients attempted to remove his ear as a souvenir, but assured Minini that the bouncer stopped it in time. This was too much for her to bear, and through tears she explained that she can’t watch Fashonti get hurt anymore.

“Minini, I…” Fashonti was desperate to find the right words, but he couldn’t find them. He simply stood there, trying to come to terms with things.

“I’m sorry, Fashonti…” Minini still could not meet his eyes. “I can’t watch you do this to yourself.” When she finally looked back at him, her eyes welled back up with tears. “I want you to have a good life, to be happy, but if you… If you’re going to keep getting hurt like this…” She trailed off. Neither spoke for a long time, deafening silence filling the air between them. At last, she continued. “I’m sorry. It… would be best if we just forgot each other.”

Fashonti stood there, unsure of what to say. He knew he had to say something, he wanted to find the right words to fix this, but he learned long ago the futility of fighting back. He could do nothing more than accept what was happening. “...I understand. ...Please take care of yourself. I wish you all the happiness this world has to give.” He turned to leave as Minini closed the door. He could hear sobbing from the other side and felt as though his heart would be torn asunder if he stayed. With nothing else to be done, he left the Lily Hills apartments and made the long journey back to Ul’dah.

***

Days later, Fashonti sat on a street corner in Ul’dah, barely aware of his surroundings. It was a rare day where he’d only had a single client, so Miss Vex sent him out to ‘present himself’ to prospective customers. He had put on his nicest clothing, even wearing the collar one of his earliest clients had gifted him, but he didn’t feel up to trying to attract attention. So he’d spent the last two hours on the ground, knees pulled to his chest.

“Heeeey, Ane, looooook!” Fashonti looked up at the hyurian man and auri woman who approached him. The hyur was bent down looking over Fashonti like one would look at a lost kitten. “Awww, I think he’s a stray. Can we keep him, sis?”

The auri woman scoffed. “Banri, he has a collar. He obviously has an owner.” She approached Fashonti and crossed her arms. “Where is your owner, boy?”

Fashonti looked between the two, confused, then remembered his reason for being there. “...If you are in need of company, my time can be purchased for a… very reasonable fee. If you’d like, my employer can--”

“How reasonable?” The au ra raised an eyebrow at Fashonti.

Nervously, he met her gaze. She seemed to be measuring his worth in her mind. “Ah… Today only, we have an… introductory price of ninety-thousand gil per--”   
  
“<<No.>>” She noticed Fashonti’s confusion, and spoke again in a more common tongue. “No. I can do better. Come with me,” she motioned for the miqo’te to rise. “We will get you some work.”

Not knowing what to do, he looked between the duo. The au ra stood there impatiently and the hyur flashed a grin and gave a double thumbs up to Fashonti. He sat in thought for a moment.  _ Maybe if I keep busy, I can forget… _ He allowed the thought to trail off, then nodded. Standing with a bow, he finally spoke. “Please, lead the way.” New opportunities awaited.

  
  



End file.
